Meituan’s autonomous delivery division has experienced a major leadership transition, with Xia Huaxia, Vice President and General Manager of the Autonomous Vehicle Business Unit, announcing his departure. Since joining Meituan in 2013, Xia has been instrumental in establishing the company’s autonomous delivery team, steering it from its inception to full-fledged, large-scale operations. In 2022, Meituan launched a pilot program for autonomous delivery services in Shenzhen, where each vehicle now travels roughly 120 kilometers daily, boosting delivery efficiency by 30% compared to traditional methods involving human riders. By October 2025, Meituan’s autonomous vehicles in Shenzhen had successfully completed over 5 million cumulative delivery orders.

Xia had previously forecasted that autonomous delivery would enter a phase of large-scale deployment by 2026, though the industry continues to grapple with significant challenges. Last year, Meituan restructured the management of its autonomous vehicle division, appointing Zhang Jing, head of the instant delivery system, to oversee the business. Xia’s departure signifies the completion of Meituan’s organizational restructuring within its autonomous delivery sector.

Express logistics expert Zhao Xiaomin commented that Meituan’s autonomous vehicle business has fallen short of initial expectations. The leadership change and organizational restructuring are aimed at streamlining dual-line operations and accelerating the commercialization and large-scale rollout of a fully autonomous delivery system.